Phoenix Engineering Jobs from Biomedical Campus Expansion

A new round of funding will help to create Phoenix engineering jobs and many other positions.

Officials recently announced that $15 million has been awarded to the Phoenix Biomedical Campus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That funding will be used to build laboratory support facilities, creating an immediate 250 engineering, construction and design jobs.

The National Institutes of Health awarded the funding to expand the University of Arizona College of Medicine, which operates in partnership with Arizona State University, and is located on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

"It is truly gratifying to see the federal government recognize the development of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus by bestowing us with this grant," Mayor Phil Gordon said. "We have great hopes for the scientists and students on our downtown campus to change our lives with their work."

The funding will specifically be used to help fund the first phase of the lab to support research activities in the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative building on the campus. That building currently houses researchers from UA's basic medical sciences department and ASU's department of biomedical informatics.

"This grant will allow us to build a shared resource facility supporting all the great life-saving research going on at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus," William M. Crist, MD, vice president for health affairs at UA, said. "The NIH has acknowledged that our research in cardiovascular, cancer and neurological areas is critical to the development of the biomedical campus."

Once completed, the project - which is estimated to have an initial economic impact of $27 million - will create an an additional 33 permanent research jobs. The facility is expected to earn LEED Silver certification with sustainability concepts, including: recycling, energy efficiency, reduced water use and sustainable site and open space plans.